Pelican Three is looking for musical adventure
'Put Your Head in the Radio' moves from lyrical chamber jazz to raw punk. Pelican Three is the new trio of Iman Spaargaren (saxophone), Mark Tuinstra (guitar) and Dirk Beets (trumpet). The trio wallows with dedication in idiosyncratic compositions and uses a wide palette of timbres. The trio's motto: we - Spaargaren, Tuinstra and Beets - fearlessly embark on the musical adventure and hope to come out unscathed!
Their album 'Put Your Head in the Radio' will be released on November 24 (digital only) on ZenneZ Records.
The trio's music ranges from lyrical chamber music to raw punk and from sensitive free compositions to humorous escapades with respect for and knowledge of the jazz tradition. Mark Tuinstra wrote the majority of the pieces. The album also contains a 'cover' – but completely idiosyncratic á la Pelican Three – 'Tainted Love' by the English new wave group Soft Cell. The song dates from 1981, approximately the period when Spaargaren, Tuinstra and Beets started their teenage years.
The question remains: why the band name, what association with the pelican - its authenticity, natural habitat or supposed musicality?
“Well,” explains Iman Spaargaren, for once down to earth, “that name came about completely spontaneously. What I can say about it is: Three speaks for itself. Furthermore: we rehearse in Amsterdam-Noord, with a view of a vast river. And then we sometimes fantasized what it would be like if pelicans from the sky pounced on their prey.”
For the record: the pelican does not occur in Amsterdam North; By the way, it is a neighborhood of many different kinds, but this is entirely beside the point. “I've seen them in Peru,” says Spaargaren. “Of course a unique species in itself with that beak of theirs. And how they devour their prey is really brutal! It is also a bit of a clumsy bird, but at the same time it also has a certain elegance.”
And these are also characteristics of the Pelican Three sound, moving between lyrical and raw. The three are well-matched team players, familiar with their instruments - just listen to their solos - who tell stories together and open up and utilize the space to the maximum in a truly unusual line-up.
The album title is a reference to the band Radiohead, an important influence on Pelican Three's music. It is also a small reference to the poor Dutch radio landscape “where you have to look very hard for some surprising music”.
Line up:
Iman Spaargaren - tenor saxophone
Dirk Beets - trumpet
Mark Tuinstra -guitar
Personal details
Iman Spaargaren plays tenor saxophone, clarinet and bass clarinet. In 2022 he received a composition assignment on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the BIM professional association. Iman plays in The Undercurrent Orchestra, with whom he previously released the album 'Everything Seems Different' on Zennez Records. With the Undercurrent Trio with Guillermo Celano and Marcos Baggiani he will tour Argentina in winter 2023 and Cuba in spring 2024.
Versatile guitarist Mark Tuinstra is self-taught. He grew up in a musical environment – his father was a drummer and his mother played piano and guitar. Mark himself first learned to play the piano, drums and bass guitar before he ended up with the guitar. His focus is broad, from jazz and free improv to African and Indian music, and also pop. Mark plays in FaKruTu, a trio with Stefan Kruger and Sean Fasciani, The Nordanians with Oene van Geel and Niti Ranjan Biswas with whom he previously released Tabla Rasa on Zennez Records, and Dr. Jordan Institute, a project by FaKruTu with soprano Nicole Jordan, with whom he will tour Canada in January 2024.
Trumpeter Dirk Beets started his career in 1989 with the band De Dijk, with which he played on all prominent stages in the Netherlands. He played with Bob Brookmeyer's orchestra in New York in the famous club "The Village Vanguard". With the band Monsieur Dubois (including Bart Wirtz) he performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival in 2006 (called 'the surprise of the festival') and at the Jazz International Rotterdam (at the invitation of Jesse van Ruller). Dirk also played with the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw, the New Rotterdam Jazz Orchestra and recorded with Defunkt and The Jazzinvaders, among others.
